1. Abstract

The Department of Defense Explosives Standards Board (DDESB) was established following the July 10, 1926 lightning visit at the Lake Denmark Powder Depot at Picatinny Arsenal, NJ. An assumed "lightning-protected" magazine with 600,000 pounds of TNT was set off. Four days of explosions followed with 19 persons killed and 38 wounded.

Two years later, Congress mandated DDESB to have oversight for every aspect of explosives under control of the US Armed Forces. Since 1926, some 82 known lightning-caused explosions to federal government facilities have occurred. DDESB and the military services inspect military explosives stores for code compliance: